The present invention relates in general to an apparatus for untwisting and simultaneously stripping the insulation from the ends of a plurality of twisted electrical wires. More particularly, the present invention provides the capability of partially stripping the ends instead of fully stripping them, in that insulation is merely pierced and partially removed so that it can be fully removed by hand at a later stage of a manufacturing process.
In the electrical and electronics industry, twisted electrical wires are often used to connect terminals of equipment. The advantages in using twisted wires include more compact wiring and the minimization of inductance effects between the wires. In order to make electrical connections, the ends of the wires making up the twisted wire cable must be untwisted and the insulation stripped therefrom. In a manufacturing environment, it is desirable to manufacture the twisted wire cables prior to the time they are to be installed in electrical equipment. When this is done, corrosion problems often result when the stripped ends of the cables are left exposed to air prior to connection to electrical equipment. Such a problem is prevalent with silver plated wires which are to be attached to connectors by wire wrapping.
Apparatuses for untwisting and stripping insulation from twisted wire pair leads are known in the prior art, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,779,290 by Dennis E. Rich, et al, filed Sept. 28, 1972 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,815,449 by Earl Earnest Folkenroth, filed May 31, 1972. Such apparatuses can only strip the wires on one end of a twisted wire pair at a time. Further, such apparatuses cannot partially strip the insulation from the conductors of a twisted wire pair.
Accordingly, it is a general object of the present invention to provide an apparatus which simultaneously partially strips the insulation from the ends of a plurality of wires in a twisted wire cable.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an improved twisted wire stripping apparatus.
It is an additional object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for simultaneously untwisting the wires on both ends of a twisted wire cable and stripping the insultation from the ends of the wires.